Perspective

It is interesting how our perspective colours our view of things. These photos were taken on the same day as the others but I was searching out peaceful views as an escape from the chaos. I thought I'd have to take the kids for a walk around the neighbourhood to find it but it was here all the time, sitting quietly waiting for me to notice it. 

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Heart full.

Happy V Day

I hope your Valentine's Day is sweet. This is a little gift for Mr Duyvken, remember last year when I was trying to not complain about being pregnant? This year he's getting nougat and an ironclad guarantee that there will be no complaints.
One of my favourite things to do on Valentine's day is to remember this wonderful cause and to share it with everyone. Women taking care of women is always worth celebrating. Hopefully, there will come a time when the need for this kind of activism is past.

The Status K-woah

 When the sight of the hallway becomes too much for me I retire to my room for a little respite.

 But it isn't as restful as it used to be in there.

Time for a drink? Hm, that lumbar roll wedged between the fridge and the door is (only just) keeping the fridge functional  so we're adapting to ducking underneath it limbo style. I'm no Shemika Charles but I'm working it.

Yes, there is a wardrobe in my living room. No, I don't want to talk about it.

Pocket Quilt

C starts primary school tomorrow. A journey she is ready to embark on but one that she is a little bit nervous about. She is very lucky that she has G and J already there because she is very familiar with the place and how it all works. She is right on the cusp of big kidness but there are a couple of little things that linger and this sorry looking quilt is one of them. Mr Duyvken and I bought this for J. Officially it was Mr Duyvken's 30th birthday present because money was pretty tight back then and he wanted new sheets and a quilt for the cot he had made for our long-awaited second baby. He's a lovely fellow that Mr Duyvken. J used it and loved it and then C inherited it when she moved into the cot but she loved it so much it went with her to the big girl bed and has been carted around ever since.

It is (literally) falling apart and has worn bare in places but she still loves it. It comforts her when she can't sleep or when she is sick and she hasn't yet grown out of it. So, as ready as she is for 'big school' I wanted to give her a little piece of comfort that she could keep in her pocket just in case. 

She chose one of her favourite parts of the quilt to use. It is practically worn right through so it might not last long but it will feel just right if she needs it and I will feel better knowing that it is just there in her pocket if she needs some love from home. The velvet on the other side is from a pair of pants that my mum bought for herself. My mum is not a tall person and everything needs to be shortened. She knows how much C likes soft, textural fabrics and so she saved the offcuts and suggested this little project.

I shed a few tears while making this. Honestly, I'm hopeless. Being a mama is a bittersweet thing sometimes.

Art Smock Tutorial - recycling Mr Duyvken's shirts

All the little duyvkens need art smocks for their back to school kits so I decided to make a few adjustments to the shirts that they wear at home when they are painting to make them a little more 'smockish'. It's very easy to do, you start by cutting the collar and the top button off of an old business shirt. 

Stitch one end of a 6cm piece of elastic to the wrong side of the shirt where the top button hole is using zigzag stitch. 

Stitch the other end of the elastic to spot where the top button was, again on the wrong side of the shirt so that, when you turn it right side out it looks like this.

Measure the arms of the person who needs the smock and cut off as much of the cuffs and sleeves as required. This one is for G so I needed the length of the placket and only cut off the cuff. Run a line of stitching down the placket to keep it closed. For C and J I cut the sleeve off above this point and saved myself this step.

 Turn the shirt inside out and turn the sleeve back 2cms, stitching to create a channel for the elastic. Leave a 1cm gap between the start and the end of the stitching so that you can thread the elastic through easily.

Tie hat elastic to the end of a safety pin and thread through the channel you have just made at the end of the sleeve.

Tie off with a double knot and repeat on the other sleeve.

Embellishment is not required on an art smock because if it is well used it will be splattered with paint and glitter very quickly but I had a couple of yoyos in my sewing basket and I couldn't help myself.

So there you have it, 3 art smocks ready for school and 3 old shirts saved from the rag pile.

Wet Weather Blues v Operation Pinterest

The weather has been pretty rotten these past 2 days and C has been very unwell so our plans for a fun-filled end to the holidays hasn't been a great success. J and JW have been happy with card games and sprinting down the hall shouting 'sonic boost', C has been sleeping wanting to have her back scratched, Sweetie has been happy trying to keep up with J and JW but G has been running out of ideas. Once we remembered the great resource that is Pinterest however we found lots of things to try.

First up was a heart-shaped origami bookmark and some you tube origami tutorials.

The backdrop is a puzzle that G and I have been working on all holidays. We discovered two things doing this; 1. G does not enjoy puzzles and 2. I can get a little obsessive.

The next project has been in my Pinterest folder for a while and, after cleaning out G's wardrobe we had a bunch of t-shirts that are too small so we cut them into strips and got started.

They are fantastic and G is really enjoying making them. She has a large pile now in a range of colours and embellishments. Perfect for this age group and the tutorial is so clear she didn't need any help from me to figure her way through it.

New floors, old photos, good friends, great conversation, laughing til it hurts, dust everywhere, a haircut and one case of tonsilitis makes for a very full weekend. The last week of the school holidays has started and we are hoping to make it a memorable week. Hopefully, C will be feeling better tomorrow and we can kick things off with a bang.

Piecing Curves

 Piecing curves requires a lot of pins and that makes a mama nervous now that Sweetie is crawling and all the sewing happens in the living room. A quilt for my nephew is slowly coming together and if I can get over my fear of baby getting one of those pins I might be able to get it finished before the nephew turns 1.

It's a free-pieced pear. Well, it's supposed to be a pear. I shouldn't make declarations like that until the thing is finished because at this stage it does look a little like a heavily tattooed, plus sized nude. Hopefully, some applique will change that.